cheese-crusted steak burritos
and a discount for you
Given the various components, this recipe is bit outside of my super simple recipes. But I think it is WELL worth the effort for a special meal. And as always I’ll drop plenty of tips below so you can opt for making this fully from scratch or a few hacks along the way to speed things up.
The steak is grilled to perfection, the burrito is crusted with cheese, and it’s served with a tangy green cilantro crema to balance things out.
And in case you missed it, since this is a recipe in partnership with Hexclad, they are offering 10% off to you! Use code: RH10 until Oct 9 to claim.
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour
SERVES: 2
Grocery List + Printable version
Chef’s knife, cutting board, pot, frying pans and salt + pepper shakers are all from Hexclad here. Use code RH10 to get 10% off until Oct 9.
Immersion blender
Fish spatula
Meat thermometer
1 16 oz steak - I used a sirloin but pick your favorite
For the rice:
3/4 cups long grain white rice
1/3 cup cilantro
1 lime
For the jalapeno cilantro crema:
1 cup each parsley + cilantro
1 clove garlic
1 lime
1 jalapeno
1/2 cup sour cream
For the guacamole:
2 ripe avocados
1 lime
1/4 cup diced red onion
1 clove garlic
For assembly:
2 XL flour tortillas
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
Season steak generously with salt and pepper and set aside to bring to room temp while you start the rest of your components.
Cook your rice. Rinse 3/4 cups rice under cold water until water runs clear. Add to a small pot with 1 cup water and a pinch of salt. Cover and place on high heat until simmering. Immediately move to low heat and set timer for 16 minutes. Once timer goes off, remove from heat completely and set aside for 16 minutes (leaving the lid on the whole time). Once done, fluff with fork and add 1/3 cup chopped cilantro and juice of 1 lime.
Make your jalapeno cilantro crema. Using an immersion blender or small food processor, blend together all your crema ingredients: 1 cup each parsley + cilantro, 1 clove garlic, juice and zest of 1 lime, 1 jalapeno with the seeds removed, 1/2 cup sour cream and a pinch of salt. Blend until smooth and taste, adding more salt or a splash of lime juice if needed.
Cook your steak. DO NOT use a nonstick pan here unless it’s a Hexclad, normal non-sticks are not meant to be used at high heat. Heat a large hexclad fry pan over medium-high heat (or high heat if using a cast iron). Pat dry steak and splash your pan with a tiny bit of high smoke point oil (avocado or grapeseed). Once pan is hot, add steak and gently press it down using a pot lid or chef’s press so it sears evenly. Cook for 2-4 minutes per side depending on thickness and doneness you’d like (check this guide for in-depth technique). Once cooked, remove from pan and let rest for 5-10 minutes - you can shred your cheese and make your guacamole now.
Guacamole. To a small bowl, add 2 ripe avocados, juice of 1 lime, 1/4 cup diced red onion, 1 clove of minced garlic and a big pinch of salt. Mash together and taste, adding more lime or salt to your liking.
Assemble burrito. Heat your tortillas (I do the microwave for 20 seconds). Assemble each burrito with guacamole, rice, sour cream and sliced steak. Once rolled, in 2 batches, add 1/4-1/2 cup cheese to a fry pan over medium heat in a circle - enough to cover the entire burrito. Once it starts to melt, add the burrito to the edge of the cheese. As the cheese starts to turn golden and looks a bit hardened around the edges, using the thinnest spatula you have (I use this one), carefully lift the cheese and press it into the burrito, simultaneously rolling the burrito onto the remaining cheese (the video will really help you here). Keep rolling until the cheese is covering the burrito.
Cut in half and serve with your crema to dip.
Cooking the perfect steak: Steak can be very tricky and because I don’t cook it a lot, I love to rely on a meat thermometer to help me out. Definitely check out this guide because each steak is unique, and will require a different amount of cook time depending on how thick it is, how cold it is, and how done you’d like it. I prefer my steak a bit more medium than rare in a burrito - just a texture thing, but totally up to you!
What to serve it with: This is amazing with a mexican style salad, elotes, slaw or just chips and gauc and salsa.
Riff: if you’re nervous about the cheese crust but still want the cheese, make the components but turn this into a quesadilla, with the rice and guac on the side.
Simplify: feel free to use store-bought guacamole and crema sauce and even ready-to-eat rice. For the steak, you can use leftover steak or the ready-to-eat pieces (they have these at Costco in the US), or sub in any other meat you’d like.
Storing + reheating: I’ll be honest this is not one for prepping in advance or reheating. If you must, I recommend storing everything separately and assembling the burrito when you’re ready to go! If you’re looking to split things up a bit, you can make the rice and crema in advance and make the steak and gauc at assembly time.
Make it dairy-free: use dairy-free sour cream in the crema and skip the cheese crust.
Make it gluten-free: use almond flour tortillas.
What to do with extra jalapeno crema: this is great on any meat, works well as slaw dressing, or even just a dip for tortilla chips.
What to do with leftover tortillas: I always buy a big pack and we end up just having 2 or 3 so end up with so many leftover. I love to make quesadillas, chicken caesar wraps, or even make chips or crispy tortilla strips to top your favorite chili with.
Steak: sub in beans or seasoned chicken breasts.
Long grain white rice: sub any rice you’d like, just follow the package instructions for best cooking.
Cilantro: if you hate cilantro you can leave it out of rice completely, and sub extra parsley in the crema.
Jalapeno: if you’re nervous about spice, know that this sauce isn’t spicy especially if you remove all the seeds, but you can omit the jalapeno or sub for poblano.
Sour cream: sub plain creek yogurt or dairy-free sour cream.
Red onion in the guacamole: sub in 1/2 - 1 tsp onion powder, or use white onions, or skip completely.
Flour tortillas: feel free to use GF wraps if you can find large ones!
Cheddar cheese: sub pepperjack cheese, or skip entirely.
Anything else? Drop a comment below if you have any questions, and don’t forget to let me know if you make it!